In-situ self-dissolving and regenerating synthesis of superwetting cotton fabric with excellent oil/water emulsions separation performance

Abstract The textiles with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity have shown excellent separation performance for emulsified oil in wastewater, but they still suffer from complicated construct of hierarchical architectures and hydrophilic surface. Herein, a hydrophilic hierarchical layer of cellulose is constructed on commercial cotton fabric surface via a proposed in-situ self-dissolving and regenerating strategy. The cellulose provides both hydrophilic surface and hierarchical structural foundation for the remodeled cotton fabric (RCF) without any further chemical modification. The obtained RCF has strong superhydrophilicity, underwater superoleophobicity, and anti-oil-adhesion property, which can be applicable for efficient oil-in-water emulsion separation with high separation efficiency and recyclable antifouling performance. The developed RCF assembly strategy provides an excellent membrane for the separation of oil-in-water emulsion, and a new prospect for the convenient and universal construct of other superwetting cellulose-based materials.